Wang Yu () (died July 6, 768) was a Chinese politician during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, who became trusted by Emperor Suzong due to his studies in witchcraft and the employment of such witchcraft on Emperor Suzong's behalf, such that Emperor Suzong eventually made him

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Background

It is not known when Wang Yu was born. He was a fifth-generation descendant of

Wang Fangqing Wang Fangqing (王方慶) (died 702), formal name Wang Lin (王綝) but went by the courtesy name of Fangqing,''New Book of Tang'', vol. 72, part 2. formally Duke Zhen of Shiquan (石泉貞公), was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty and ...

, who served as a

during the reign of

Wu Zetian Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

. His intervening ancestors' names were recorded as Wang Jiao (), Wang Chong (), Wang Zhonglian (), and Wang Shao (), none of whom was recorded to have carried any official titles except for Wang Jiao who served as prefect of Lu Prefecture and Wang Zhonglian who served as a secretarial officer at Yang Prefecture (揚州, roughly modern

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

). Wang Yu himself was said to be well-studied in the worshipping of gods and spirits and particularly paid attention to the proper times to offer sacrifices.

During Emperor Xuanzong's reign

Toward the end of the ''Kaiyuan'' era (713-742) of Wu Zetian's grandson Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Xuanzong was paying great attention to Taoist doctrines and ceremonies. Wang Yu made a submission to Emperor Xuanzong requesting that an altar, to be called the Spring Altar (春壇, ''Chun Tan''), be built to the east of the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

and dedicated to the Blue Emperor (青帝, ''Qing Di''). Emperor Xuanzong agreed, and he made Wang an official-scholar at the ministry of worship (太常寺, ''Taichang Si'') and an imperial censor (侍御史, ''Shiyushi''), as well as a special emissary of worship (祠祭使, ''Ciji Shi''). It was said that Wang drew favors from the emperor due to his dedication to worshipping gods on Emperor Xuanzong's behalf. It was further said that while previously, the common populace already had a custom of sacrificing

joss paper Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). Wo ...

to the spirits, it was Wang who brought this custom into official ceremonies.

During Emperor Suzong's and Emperor Daizong's reigns

After Emperor Xuanzong's son Emperor Suzong became emperor in 756, Wang Yu was promoted to be the minister of worship (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing''). Because his worship of the gods pleased Emperor Suzong, Emperor Suzong often gave him rewards. In 758, when Emperor Suzong removed the chancellors Cui Yuan and Li Lin from their posts, he made Wang ''Zhongshu Shilang'' () -- the deputy head of the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng'') and gave him the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (), making him a chancellor ''de facto''. It was said that even before this, Wang did not have a good reputation among the people, and after he was made chancellor, his reputation grew worse due to his incompetence. At Wang's suggestion, Emperor Suzong built an altar dedicated to the god ''Taiyi'' (太一 or 太乙) to the south of Chang'an. Around this time, Emperor Suzong was ill, and the fortunetellers told him that he was being cursed by a god of a mountain or a river. Wang thus suggested that a group of

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

es and

eunuchs A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

be commissioned to go to various mountains and rivers of the empire to pray for Emperor Suzong. The witches that Wang selected used this opportunity to extort bribes from the local officials. One of them, who was sent to Huang Prefecture (黃州, in modern

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

), took an entourage of several tens of young hoodlums with her and stayed at the station for imperial messengers with them. When the prefect of Huang Prefecture, Zuo Zhen (), visited in the morning, he found the station door locked. He became angry, and he ordered that his police officers break into the station and that the witch be dragged out to be decapitated. He also killed the hoodlums that she was with, and then confiscated the bribes that they were carrying. He submitted the funds to Emperor Suzong and requested that the funds be used to pay the taxes that the people of Huang Prefecture would otherwise be responsible for. Emperor Suzong accepted the funds but did not punish Wang. In 759, indeed, pursuant to Wang's suggestions, he personally offered sacrifices to the gods of the nine palaces (九宮神, ''Jiugong Shen''). Later that year, however, he made Wang the minister of justice (刑部尚書, ''Xingbu Shangshu'') and removed him from the chancellor position. In 760, Wang was made the prefect of Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

), as well as the military governor (''

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

'') of the surrounding prefectures. In 761, Wang was made the secretary general at Yang Prefecture as well as the military governor of Huainan Circuit (淮南, i.e., the region between the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

and

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

). After an occasion after Emperor Suzong offered sacrifices, he made Wang the governor of Yue Prefecture (越州, roughly modern

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitants. ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) as well as the military governor of Zhedong Circuit (浙東, i.e., the region east of the

Qiantang River The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River and alternatively romanised as the Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangz ...

). Sometime thereafter, he was recalled to serve as ''Taizi Shaobao'' () and then ''Taizi Shaoshi'' () -- both positions advisorial positions to the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

.However, as the historical accounts did not give the timing for these movements -- or, for that matter, even under which emperor these movements occurred, it is not known whether Wang thus served as an advisor to Emperor Suzong's crown prince Li Yu (the later Emperor Daizong) or Emperor Daizong's crown prince Li Kuo. Wang died in 768, during the reign of Emperor Suzong's son Emperor Daizong. He was buried with honors and given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

''Jianhuai'' (簡懷, meaning "undiscriminating and just"). His great-grandson Wang Tuan later served as a chancellor near the end of Tang Dynasty, under Emperor Zhaozong.

Notes and references

* ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

''
vol. 130
. * ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

''
vol. 109
* ''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vols.

220 __NOTOC__ Year 220 ( CCXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Eutychianus (or, less frequently, year 973 '' ...

221 __NOTOC__ Year 221 (Roman numerals, CCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Vitellius (or, less frequently, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Yu 768 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Suzong of Tang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hezhong Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Huainan Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Zhenhai Circuit Tang dynasty Taoists Witchcraft in China Year of birth unknown